Technical Program Manager, Geo Machine Intelligence (ML)

Google

Given a tree data structure, and a set of nodes within that tree, how do you find all of their common parents? For example, consider a tree where node A is the root, and it has children B and C. Node B has children D and E, and node C has a child F. If the input set of nodes is {D, E, F}, then the common parents would be {B, C, A}. If the input set of nodes is {D, E}, then the common parents would be {B, A}. Design an algorithm to efficiently find these common parents, considering potential optimizations for different tree structures and sizes.

Google

Let's design a web proxy. Consider the following requirements: Basic Functionality: The proxy should be able to forward HTTP and HTTPS requests from clients to web servers and return the responses. Caching: Implement caching to reduce latency and bandwidth usage for frequently accessed resources. How would you handle cache invalidation? Security: The proxy should support HTTPS and protect client data. How would you handle SSL/TLS certificates? Scalability: The proxy should be able to handle a large number of concurrent connections. What architectural choices would you make to ensure scalability? Authentication: Implement basic authentication (username/password) to control access to certain websites. Logging: Log requests and responses for debugging and monitoring purposes. What information should be logged, and how would you manage log files? Blocking: Implement the functionality to block access to certain websites based on a blacklist. Discuss the architecture, components, and algorithms involved in building such a web proxy. Include considerations for performance, security, and maintainability. Provide example scenarios and solutions to potential challenges.

Google

Describe a time you faced a tough technical problem. What made it so difficult, and how did you approach solving it? What resources did you consult, and what was the final outcome? What did you learn from this experience, and how has it shaped your problem-solving skills since then? For example, perhaps you were tasked with optimizing a slow-running query in a large database. The initial attempts to improve performance, such as adding indexes, didn't yield the desired results. You then had to dive deep into the query execution plan, identify bottlenecks, and rewrite the query using more efficient techniques, like leveraging window functions or temporary tables. You could also describe the challenges faced while integrating a new feature into a legacy system with poorly documented code. You might have had to reverse engineer parts of the system, deal with unexpected dependencies, and carefully test the integration to avoid breaking existing functionality. Elaborate on the specific tools and methodologies you employed during these challenges, such as debuggers, profilers, or version control systems. Also, explain how you collaborated with team members or sought assistance from external resources like online forums or documentation to overcome the obstacles.